Art for the Marney the Fox stories for Sunny magazine published in the 1980s, artist unknown

The beautiful Marney the Fox collection, gathered from the pages of weekly comic Buster is out this week, but who remembers an incarnation published in the nursery title Sunny in the 1980s?

The “Marney the Fox” comic strip – the story of a wandering fox cub – by Scott M. Goodall, drawn by John Stokes, appeared in Buster  from the issue dated 22nd June 1974 through to 11th September 1976. We’ve published some art from the story here on downthetubes and can thoroughly recommend this latest addition to 2000AD publisher Rebellion’s Treasury of British Comics range.

Art for the Marney the Fox stories for Sunny magazine published in the 1980s, artist unknown

Sunny – not to be confused with the magazine published by George Newnes, initially as Sunny Stories for Little Folk in 1926, edited and written by Enid Blyton (although she was only credited as the editor) – was published by IPC as a fortnightly nursery title in the 1980s.

(IPC seemed to like the title – there was a 1960s/1970s version, too, which was merged with Disneyland, which became Disneyland and Sunny Stories with Issue 18 in 1971).

The first page of a typical episode of “Marney” from Sunny Issue Six

Clever Marney saves the day!

“Marney” appeared in every number of Sunny, which ran for just nine issues from November 1986 to February 1987 when it was incorporated with Funtime.

The art is by the little-known artist Bernard Long, an extraordinarily talented and reliable contributor to many Amalgamated Press/ Fleetway/ IPC titles and the Young Telegraph during the 1990s. 

Better known for his book illustration work, which included dinosaurs and prehistoric animals, he also drew many episodes of “Fliptail the Otter” for another nursery title, Jack and Jill, in the 1970s, and to the Jack & Jill and Teddy Bear annuals.

Art by Bernard Long, possibly for the book Strange and Curious Creatures offered on eBay by an Australian gallery

It is thought that he contributed to Look and Learn in the late 1960s and back page artwork for Fun-To-Doin later years. In a note on the Illustration Art Gallery blog, fellow artist David Slinn recalls that Long was “quietly efficient, very reliable and, as a result, somewhat taken for granted.”

Does anyone know if the strip continued in Funtime? Inquiring minds would love to know.

• Marney the Fox is available now from all good bookshops 

• If you’re a John Stokes fan, you may also want to track down his work adapting Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, published by Classical Comics in 2009

• There is a checklist of Bernard Long’s known work here on the Illustration Art Gallery

• There’s art by Bernard Long for sale on Book Palace

With thanks to Phillip Rushton and David Slinn. “Marney the Fox” © Rebellion Publishing Ltd.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: downthetubes News

Tags: Bernard Long, Buster, downthetubes News, John Stokes, Marney the Fox, Scott Goodall, Sunny, Sunny Stories